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HD 29399 b

Cold Gas Giant Reticulum

HD 29399 b is a cold gas giant orbiting the K1 III star HD 29399 in the constellation Reticulum. It lies about 144 light-years from Earth and was discovered in 2022 using the radial velocity method.

499×Earth mass
893 dOrbital period
0.31Earth similarity
144 lyDistance
2022Discovered

Is HD 29399 b in the Habitable Zone?

HD 29399 b orbits inside the inner edge of the habitable zone of HD 29399. So close to its star, surface conditions are far too hot for liquid water.

HD 29399 b
Too hot Optimistic habitable zone Conservative habitable zone Too cold

Habitable zone of HD 29399: 2.500–6.082 AU (conservative: 3.166–5.766 AU), per Kopparapu et al. (2014). Earth orbits the Sun at 1 AU.

See the full interactive habitable-zone view in the Exoplanet Explorer app ›

Orbit and Year Length

A year on HD 29399 b — one full orbit around HD 29399 — lasts 892.7 Earth days, longer than an Earth year. It orbits at an average distance of 1.913 AU. Its orbit is mildly elliptical (eccentricity 0.05).

How Was HD 29399 b Discovered?

HD 29399 b was discovered in 2022 using the radial velocity method, with observations from La Silla Observatory.

The radial velocity method measures the subtle wobble of a star caused by the gravitational pull of an orbiting planet, visible as periodic shifts in the star's light spectrum. The size of the wobble reveals the planet's minimum mass.

How Far Away Is HD 29399 b?

HD 29399 b is 144.0 light-years (44.2 parsecs) from Earth. Light arriving here tonight left the planet around the year 1882. A probe traveling at the speed of Voyager 1 — about 17 km/s, the fastest outbound spacecraft ever launched — would need roughly 2,534,400 years to make the journey.

Earth Similarity Index

The Earth Similarity Index (ESI) scores how physically similar a planet is to Earth, from 0 to 1, based on radius, density, escape velocity and surface temperature. HD 29399 b scores 0.31, ranking #1,206 of 5,568 planets with a known ESI. For reference, Mars scores about 0.70.

The Host Star: HD 29399

HD 29399

Spectral type
K1 III
Surface temperature
4,845 K (Sun: 5,772 K)
Mass
1.17 M☉
Radius
4.50 R☉
Luminosity
10.0399 L☉
Age
6.2 billion years (Sun: 4.6)

Planetary System

HD 29399 b is the only planet known to orbit HD 29399 so far.

HD 29399 b — Complete Data

Mass (best estimate)498.99 Earth masses
Orbital period892.70 days
Orbital distance1.913 AU
Eccentricity0.050
Earth Similarity Index0.31
Distance from Earth144.0 light-years (44.2 parsecs)
ConstellationReticulum
Discovery methodRadial Velocity
Discovery facilityLa Silla Observatory
Discovery year2022

Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, last updated 2021-11-18. Earth Similarity Index: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.

Frequently Asked Questions About HD 29399 b

Is HD 29399 b habitable?

No — HD 29399 b orbits too close to its star and is too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface.

How far away is HD 29399 b?

HD 29399 b is about 144 light-years from Earth in the constellation Reticulum. A spacecraft traveling as fast as Voyager 1 (about 17 km/s) would need roughly 2,534,400 years to get there.

How long is a year on HD 29399 b?

One orbit around HD 29399 takes 892.7 Earth days.

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